A thread on the Transition section of the SSCI Report, which starts by noting that the patter they found wrt Russia happened as well with other countries (but they didn't investigate those). https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/7039357-200818-SSCI-Russia-Report.html#document/p716/a577577

The summary attributes this to inexperience which is interesting given that the NSA designate had 30 years of experience, including most recently as head of DIA.

Jared Kushner's approach to foreign policy: As much peace and as much GDP, but the GDP has to be in the US.

Kushner didn't ask Kislyak to leave his phone before entering the meeting where he (in the presence of Mike Flynn) asked to use Russia's secure comms to communicate.

So Kislyak likely has a recording.

Avi Berkowitz set up the meeting with Kislyak, where the Ambassador would provide a name for a back channel that happened to be a sanctioned banker, with an assistant whose last name he didn't know, using WhatsApp.

Berkowitz didn't understand why Kislyak had to give him the name of Gorkov, a sanctioned banker as the back channel Jared had asked for, in person.

Unsurprisingly, SSCI found that at no time was Gorkov's name mentioned in electronic communications (not even WhatsApp).

Inside VEB, Gorkov's trip was seen as an effort to capitalize on the "new US political dynamic" [for sanctioned banks].

Golly I wonder where Putin got the idea that sanctioned banks would face a new business climate in the US?

Let me interject here to remind that SSCI said the SAME unbelievably amateurish interactions with shrewd foreign leaders was going on with other countries. So assume this comedy of errors happened with KSA, Israel, UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Turkey, etc etc etc etc.

SSCI doesn't seem all that curious about why this meeting with Gorkov (whose name was not shared on any electronic communications) happened at Colony Capital, rather than in Trump Tower.

File it under, "Financial dealings SSCI would rather not know about."

Remember: This meeting came about because JARED asked for a back channel.

But when asked he's not really sure why Gorkov raised his friendship with Putin.

"I have no idea."

Oh.

Jared testified there was no follow-up after the meeting with the sanctioned banker briefed Putin about it, and his aide claims not to remember why it took 10 hours to respond with small talk, but there is a digital trail indicating there was follow-up.

Congratulations to WhatsApp, which appears to be the preferred app for Putin cronies to cultivate back channels by floating lucrative business deals.

Jared's buddy Gerson was negotiating a path forward with Russia, but did not know what the Minsk Agreement is.

Bannon and Bob Foresman have different recollections of a meeting they had in early December 2016, with Bannon saying it lasted 5 minutes and Foresman 20. That's interesting, bc Bannon asked Foresman to write a memo.

Foresman shared a copy of this first memo (in which he basically pitched a job for himself as Deputy NSA for Russia) w/a friend bc, he says, a version of it ended up in the National Interest.

Foresman met with Gorkov on December 12 and passed on a message from Mike Flynn. Two days later, some intercepts including Flynn's name attracted the attention of much of the NatSec establishment.

https://www.emptywheel.net/2020/05/14/three-days-in-december-sanctions-nukes-syria-and-russia/

Foresman's January memo to Flynn (the one WH tried to claim executive privilege over) describes Putin recognizing that if Trump tried to remove sanctions by EO, Congress would impose their own, which is pretty much what happened.

More WhatsApp diplomacy via Americans doing business in Russia during the Transition.

I feel like "The Clown Prince and the WhatsApp Diplomacy" would be a good band name for Kushner once he stops playing White House advisor.

How SSCI soft-pedals Flynn secretly calling Kislyak to make specific asks of Russia.

For some reason Flynn Jr's communications surrounding Dad's trip to the RT gala are redacted (remember he communicated with the Russian embassy), but sure the thought he could be investigated what just Mueller being a hardass.

SSCI's treatment of Flynn's influence peddling with Turkey is (how to put this?) atrocious. There's a whole trial worth of evidence and Flynn's own sworn GJ testimony establishing his ties to the Turkish Govt.

Apparently Flynn had a direct conversation with Kislyak on December 6, 2016 ("last night" on December 7, after the Embassy asked for a direct line for him).

Another call (or attempted call) with Kislyak...

As you see how much SSCI redacted on these December 22 and 23 calls involving Flynn and Kislyak, keep in mind that Ratcliffe (who also oversaw this declassification) DID NOT release the transcript of the 12/22 call and the 12/6 call hadn't been revealed before.

Remember when the frothy right said Flynn's transcripts (which SSCI appears not to have consulted) were not that bad, bc they weren't about sanctions?

Consider what it means that SSCI, over the course of a 2.5 year investigation into Russia, appears never to have gotten the transcripts of the Flynn-Kislyak calls.

And then, when Billy Barr needed to try to undermine Flynn's prosecution, they were released to the world.

Except the December 6 and December 22 ones, mind you.

In short, SSCI's treatment of Mike Flynn is inexcusably bad. They didn't even refer to documents (such as Flynn's sworn grand jury transcript) that have been public for a year. And it's inexplicable that they didn't get the transcripts but then the entire world did.

Adding, either because they didn't ask or because DOJ wouldn't share them, they also didn't have Flynn's 302s, aside from the one where he feloniously lied.